The Birth
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| The night before our little one was born :) |
...I was a little off.
We got there and were immediately put in a room where I had to wear a "one size fits all" gown that really fits no one. My ties weren't even all there! I was put in a delivery bed that encourages you to lay on your back (a position that I HATED being 9 months pregnant). So, being stubborn, I layed on my sides and made Chris put on my cute, fuzzy socks for me (a task that had become impossible for me to do on my own). I couldn't really walk around because the baby and I were hooked up to all kinds of monitors. Going to the bathroom was more than an ordeal.
By 6pm I had cervidil applied (something that is supposed to soften the cervix). You're really not supposed to move at all once this is applied, so needless to say, I was REALLY comfortable after that...I felt like quarantined orca.
In my cantankerous state, I was letting my hormones get the best of me and I became a bit emotional: Chris got me ice chips and I got all choked up because I was so thankful. He apparently had been talking to my sister (who lives in Nashville) all weekend without me knowing and convinced her to come into town to be there for me.When she showed up a few hours after we got to the hospital, I had another nice crying session. They were both incredible all weekend, and made the whole experience so much better!
The nurses gave me ambien around 9pm to get some sleep in preparation for the next day. I was reluctant to take it, but knew I would never sleep on my own with all the dings, IV machines, BP cuffs going off every 15 minutes (my right arm was sore for three days!), and other miscellaneous sounds. I slept like a champ from 10-1, at which point I woke up with some pretty solid contractions- about every 5 minutes. I had only gained 1cm over night (in addition to the 2cm I started with), and was pretty miserable. I think they gave me the pitocin around 5am, but I am not the best historian concerning this night. Shortly after I got the pitocin, the pain was so intense, I asked for pain medicine. They gave me a shot of something (heroin?!?), and I felt MUCH better. I channeled Christopher from the Sopranos during his best shooting up scenes, and melted right into my bed. I fully comprehend drug addiction now.
The heroin-shot wore off by 10ish, at which point the contractions were so intense, I was shushing all the people in the room. They called the epidural guy and he swept in with his magical needle around 11am. By 11:05, I was feeling pretty good again!
I have to say, I did feel guilty about taking the meds. I didn't drink carbonated beverages or eat deli meat for nearly 10 months, so a shot of heroin seemed like a bit of a cop out. However, I think my delivery would have encouraged me to entertain sterilization had I not had the meds.
At around 1pm I felt as though I needed to push (strange feeling). I can't really explain what this even felt like, and it could have just been me being tired of not having this baby, but I kept calling my nurse to tell her it was time to go! Also, I could hear other women nearby having their babies and I was jealous that they were done being pregnant.
She came every time I called, but kept telling me I wasn't quite ready... I must have called her every 10 minutes until she told me it was really time. Chris, Dr. Ayres, Staci our nurse were all in the room at this point, and Dr. Ayres kicked all the family out (my sister, mom, and mother in law). Once they left, he said "it's better with less people, unless you really want them here." I didn't care about anything at that point except getting this little boy OUT.
A few moments later, a random woman who was a pediatric nurse came in and stood by my head. While everyone else was very helpful and was encouraging, this crazy woman kept screaming into my ear "shoot him to the ceiling!! push him out like he's a bowel movement!" I LOATHED her!!! First of all, babies are NOT bowel movements and it's NOT the same kind of action. She was a broken record and it was all I could do not to swear at her. I didn't want Harrison's first moments on earth to be me cussing out the delivery team, so I refrained, but I did shush her to no avail though.
Also, the woman across the hall was also in labor and was too late for her epidural. She didn't speak English and kept screaming obscenities in Spanish. She screamed bloody murder the entire time I was pushing. I felt awful for her, and incredibly thankful for my epidural. I started to get upset about how much pain I could tell she was in, but Chris was my saving grace. He was incredible the whole time, always saying how much he loved me and saying a bunch of crap about how great I was doing (I didn't think so at the time). He was a good coach :)
I couldn't be more appreciative to have him as a husband and as the father of our baby boy.
FINALLY by 2:31pm (after about 30 minutes of active labor), our little buddy made it out into the world! I have never felt love the way I did the moment I saw my son. The intense love I have for my son and my husband moves me to tears on a daily basis.
...Though I do love them both so incredibly much, I would like the crying to stop :) Damn hormones!
I have to say the labor wasn't as bad as I imagined. I think people like to tell first time mom's all their horror stories about how awful it is. Please don't be mistaken, it was no walk in the park, and I had my amazing epidural, but it was really only the last 5 minutes that were hellacious and miserable. It was still traumatic enough that Chris and I will be waiting a while before we embark on this type of life adventure again, but I'm not scared of SOMEDAY giving this little boy a baby brother or sister (by someday I mean YEARS from now).
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| Harrison Everett Maxwell 7 pounds 11 ounces 20.5 inches in length |
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| Chris meeting his son for the first time <3 |
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| There isn't a great family picture that doesn't include my naked chest, so this is my first pic with my baby boy :) ...I was pretty exhausted and Chris and I were having a moment. I LOVE my boys!!! |
Thank you for the story...about time, geeeez! jk. Glad you got to enjoy your heroin shot. :) LOVE the pictures and hope I can actually meet him soon?!? :)
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